Sony might have been beaten by rivals Hisense and Samsung Electronics in the race to bring the first consumer RGB LED TVs to mass market, but it could yet outdo its rivals with a broader range of offerings set to launch next year.
That’s according to Omdia’s research director for displays David Hsieh, who believes the Japanese electronics giant will launch not one, but two different RGB LED TVs in 2026. Moreover, he thinks buyers will have a wide range of different sizes to choose from when they go on sale.
Samsung and Hisense launched their first LCD televisions with RGB LED backlights earlier this month. Samsung came first when it debuted the monster-sized 115-inch Micro RGB TV, which is on sale now in South Korea and the U.S., and expected to launch in Europe and the U.K. soon. One day later, Hisense entered the U.S. market with its ever-so-slightly bigger 116-inch Hisense 116UX RGB-MiniLED TV, which will soon be joined by a 110-inch offering.
RGB LED is the next-generation of LCD TVs, surpassing the capabilities of Mini-LED. Instead of using Mini-LED backlights, they come with RGB MicroLED backlights, which are much smaller. This gives the TVs a much wider colour gamut, with more local dimming zones that can be controlled independently, while also improving energy efficiency by around 20%. As such, RGB LED TVs have more precise control over the on-screen lighting and colour, which means the pictures they display are more accurate and true-to-life compared to any Mini-LED TV.
The technology is an exciting development and HDTVTest’s Vincent Teoh was mightily impressed with the Hisense 116UX TV that he managed to get his hands on, and so many are eagerly anticipating the release of additional options:
Sony and TCL are both expected to deliver their first RGB LED TVs next year. Sony first teased its take on the technology in March, and according to Hsieh, it’s planning to launch two different models next year.
You can learn more about Sony's version of RGB LED tech here:
As per FlatPanelsHD, which first reported Hsieh’s insights, Sony’s first RGB LED TVs will include the new Bravia 9 II TV that’s slated to launch in mid-2026, and it will feature a VA LCD panel from TCL CSOT fitted with RGB LED backlights. It will be available in 65-, 75-, 85- and 98- or 100-inch sizes, he said, providing consumers with far more options than either Samsung or Hisense. Because the Sony Bravia 9 II RGB LED TV is likely to be much smaller, it may also be more affordable, and go some way towards popularizing the technology.
Even better, perhaps, is that Sony will launch a second RGB LED TV model in the Sony Bravia 7 II, which will come in the same sizes, along with an even smaller 50-inch option, Hsieh said. However, instead of a TCL CSOT panel, it’ll use a VA LCD panel from AUO.
Hsieh’s report seems to suggest that Sony is prepared to abandon Mini-LED technology in its premium lineup entirely, which could mean that the older tech instead filters down to more mid-range or even budget options. Most likely, we’ll have to wait until next year before we hear more concrete details, but it’s certainly something to look forward to.
Sony also continues to sell OLED TVs, including both QD-OLED and WOLED models, so it should have a pretty extensive and intriguing lineup by this time next year.
As for TCL, it has managed to keep its cards much closer to its chest, and Hsieh was unable to report anything it has up its sleeves with regard to RGB LED. However, we will likely learn about TCL’s plans at CES 2026 in January.
